Lagos, Nigeria – Economic activities in the telecommunication industry boosted the contribution of the Information and Communication Technology sector to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product, with the sector adding 10.07 percent in 2025, according to the Q4 GDP data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.
Okay News reports that this shows an increase in contribution when compared with the 9.79 percent the sector added to the economy in 2024. Of the 10.07 percent total sectoral contribution, telecoms alone accounted for 7.29 percent, leaving other industries in the sector with less than 3 percent contribution. The ICT sector comprises four activities: telecommunications and information services, publishing, motion picture and music production, and broadcasting.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the sector grew by 26.34 percent year-on-year, an increase of 8.37 percentage points from the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2024. Quarter-on-quarter growth stood at 19.58 percent. Overall, the sector grew by 24.96 percent in 2025 relative to 12.68 percent in 2024. In real terms, the sector recorded a growth rate of 7.55 percent year-on-year in Q4 2025, with an annual growth of 6.85 percent for 2025, higher than the 5.57 percent recorded in 2024.
The telecoms sector performance may have resulted from a deliberate push by the telecom regulator to increase the industry’s contribution to GDP. The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida, previously stated that the Commission and the Ministry of Communications were working on policies to push the telecom sector’s contribution to 25 percent. He noted that the sector had done well with 14.58 percent contribution before GDP rebasing, but could do better if current challenges are addressed.
Nigeria’s overall GDP grew by 4.07 percent year-on-year in real terms in Q4 2025, indicating stronger economic expansion compared to earlier quarters. This telecom-driven GDP growth underscores the sector’s critical role in the economy. Sustaining this telecom-driven GDP growth will require addressing infrastructure and policy challenges.
